Edith Clara Batho
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Dr. Edith Clara Batho (21 September 1895 – 21 January 1986) was
Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...
of Royal Holloway College, University of London (RHC) from 1945 to 1962.


Education

She was educated at Highbury Hill High School, now Highbury Fields School in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
, London. She then went on to
University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
(UCL) and graduated in English in 1915.


Career

After the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
she taught at Roedean, returning to UCL in 1921 as an Assistant in English. She was appointed Reader in
English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
and awarded DLit in 1935. She was appointed
Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...
of RHC in 1945 and chose Dr Constance West as her Vice-Principal. Her first task was to restore the college following disruption of the war years and expand the residential space as post-war demand for university places increased. (The college had been partially occupied by the women's
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Officer Cadets' Training Unit (OCTU) during the war.) In the academic year 1946/7 numbers rose by almost 50% and almost 30% in the year following (to 330) which included eight male postgraduates for the first time. The Royal Holloway College Act (1949) abolished the Board of Governors replacing it with a College Council chaired by
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline; 25 February 1883 – 3 January 1981) was a member of the British royal family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal, and one of the longest-lived Britis ...
. Under the terms of the Act the Principal still had to be female but during Batho's term of office men became in authority in most other areas. In 1945/46 there were 8 men out of 34 in the whole academic community. By the end of her term this had changed to 35 out of 76. By the end of the 1950s there were 389 students and the decision to take men undergraduates was taken in 1960 when many universities in the country were planning expansion. The first 100 or so men undergraduates arrived in 1965. RHC planned expansion at that time to 1,000 students split equally between men and women. The responsibility for putting the plans into being was down to Batho's successor, Dame Marjorie Williamson.


Publications

* ''The Victorians and After, 1830-1914'' (Introductions to English Literature, vol 4), 1938, Edith Clara Batho, Guy Patterson Chapman, Bonamy Dobrée * ''A Wordsworth Selection'', 1962 Chosen and edited by Edith Clara Batho


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batho, Edith Clara 1895 births 1986 deaths People associated with Royal Holloway, University of London Alumni of University College London